Only a very small piece of the fashion pie is glamorous. Models, runway shows and stores are pretty, and you can be, too, once you buy that new outfit. The rest of it, the bulk of it, is much like dressing rooms--ugly, sparsely furnished and poorly lit. Still, many people are quite willing to drive to the unlandscaped areas of town to toil in an office permeated with the acrid smell of fabric dye.

Gregory Poe, a fashion designer with an offbeat sensibility who caused a sensation in the late 1970s with a line of see-through purses and raincoats infused with plastic fish and other whimsical items, died Sept. 1 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 51. In poor health for several years, Poe died in his sleep, according to his brother, Jeffrey. Poe quickly established himself as a fashion talent in 1978, when he designed a line of plastic clothing and accessories that incorporated novel items: colorful plastic fish afloat in raincoat pockets and clutch bags with candy wrappers sewn into the flaps.

Gregory Poe, a fashion designer with an offbeat sensibility who caused a sensation in the late 1970s with a line of see-through purses and raincoats infused with plastic fish and other whimsical items, died Sept. 1 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 51. In poor health for several years, Poe died in his sleep, according to his brother, Jeffrey. Poe quickly established himself as a fashion talent in 1978, when he designed a line of plastic clothing and accessories that incorporated novel items: colorful plastic fish afloat in raincoat pockets and clutch bags with candy wrappers sewn into the flaps.

Only a very small piece of the fashion pie is glamorous. Models, runway shows and stores are pretty, and you can be, too, once you buy that new outfit. The rest of it, the bulk of it, is much like dressing rooms--ugly, sparsely furnished and poorly lit. Still, many people are quite willing to drive to the unlandscaped areas of town to toil in an office permeated with the acrid smell of fabric dye.

The newest sign-up at the William Morris talent agency is the last guy you'd expect. Alexander Julian, fresh from his stint as costumer of "The Player," can now say, "I'm doing lunch with my agent." Reached at a farm in Connecticut where he was shopping for a horse, Julian said he needs a Hollywood rep because most packaging deals are made before he even hears about them.

Los Angeles designer Gregory Poe recalls with amazement the day a group of Japanese manufacturers showed him his chart--the one that plotted his business career far into the hazy future. "They had a Gregory Poe projection sheet that ran into the year 2000," he says. "I don't know where I'm going, but they know where I'm going." Poe isn't discussing astrology.

"The Jewish Heritage in American Folk Art," an exploration of a facet of folk creativity organized by the Museum of Folk Art and the Jewish Museum in New York, is on view at the Hebrew Union College's Skirball Museum through April 27. The exhibition consists of about ceremonial and secular objects from 1720 to the present. The earliest generations of Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jewish settlers, few in numbers, tended to assimilate their cultural patterns with those of the local population.

Los Angeles designer Gregory Poe, who makes and peddles his pricey clothes in Japan, is setting the stage for his entry into the U.S. market--literally. Poe, 32, designed the flashy costumes for "The Geography of Luck," a play opening today at the downtown Los Angeles Theatre Center. Set in Las Vegas, Poe's most spectacular female get-up is a Kelly green showgirl number, complete with satin, feathers, sequins and beaded headdress.

The Scene: Wednesday night's opening at the Fahey/Klein Gallery, where photographer Bruce Weber was presenting his first one-man show in Los Angeles. Weber rose to prominence in the '80s with his suitable-for-framing Calvin Klein underwear ads; he is also widely known for his celebrity portraits and for his photographs of what William Burroughs referred to in the official catalogue as "beautiful naked youth." Many of the beautiful youth were present in corporeal form as well--wearing clothes.

The newest sign-up at the William Morris talent agency is the last guy you'd expect. Alexander Julian, fresh from his stint as costumer of "The Player," can now say, "I'm doing lunch with my agent." Reached at a farm in Connecticut where he was shopping for a horse, Julian said he needs a Hollywood rep because most packaging deals are made before he even hears about them.

Los Angeles designer Gregory Poe recalls with amazement the day a group of Japanese manufacturers showed him his chart--the one that plotted his business career far into the hazy future. "They had a Gregory Poe projection sheet that ran into the year 2000," he says. "I don't know where I'm going, but they know where I'm going." Poe isn't discussing astrology.

The mentally disturbed man accused of shooting two Capitol Police officers will continue to be forced to take anti-psychotic medication in an effort to make him competent to stand trial, a federal judge ruled Friday. In a U.S. District Court hearing, Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled that Russell Weston had shown such improvement after six months of the medication that he might eventually understand the double murder charges against him.

Only a very small piece of the fashion pie is glamorous. Models, runway shows and stores are pretty, and you can be, too, once you buy that new outfit. The rest of it, the bulk of it, is much like dressing rooms--ugly, sparsely furnished and poorly lit. Still, many people are quite willing to drive to the unlandscaped areas of town to toil in an office permeated with the acrid smell of fabric dye.